From Mexico and Her Military Chieftains by Fay Robinson,
published 1847

[Photo: Reproduction of a
19th century portrait by L. Garcés in the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia,
Mexico City] Valentine Gomez Farias is one of the most eminent
men in Mexico, and has always been found in the same phase of the political world, a
partisan of radical reform. His name has appeared in the records of every event since the
revolution, having been a diputado to the first congresses; always the defender of
popular liberties, he opposed Iturbide when the latter made himself a monarch, although
one of his partisans at the commencement of his career; supported both Pedraza and
Victoria, and has always been willing to stand by any one who would take a step towards
the advancement of popular liberty. He first appears in a prominent position when,
at the expiration of Pedraza's presidency, Santa Anna was chosen to succeed him with
Farias as his vice-president. The state of affairs in Mexico at this period was most
peculiar. Santa Anna was the constitutional president, and sought to destroy the
instrument under which he held office so as to extend his authority, while Gomez Farias, a
liberal, or "exaltado," was anxious to increase the privileges of the people,
and assimilate the government to that of the United States his great object of admiration.
In the congress of 1833 and 1834, there was a strong majority in favor of the
vice-president, and decrees were passed or proposed destroying much of the incubus of
oppression, by which the church, heterodox in the eyes of the Catholic world, as it was
repugnant to the principles of a free people, would have been removed. Santa Anna long
protested against these innovations, and at length began to hint that he would employ
force to counteract the "views of the reformers." This was a hazardous scheme,
the chances of which, however, he had well calculated; and by one of those maneuvers which
be so well understood, be began to concentrate his forces around the capital. He proceeded
so far as to post a guard at the door of the senate chamber, and gave to the officer in
command, Captain Cortez, orders to exclude all but the senators known to be his friends.
At this outrage, Cortez, who had been educated in the United States, represented, in a
conversation not long afterwards, that though he obeyed his general, he felt as if he were
guilty of matricide, knowing that he destroyed the liberties of his country. The
consequence was, that the congress immediately declared the freedom of its discussions
invaded, and on the 14th of May, 1834, suspended its sessions. This is the last thing a
deliberative body should do. It should remember it has no dignity separate from that of
its constituents; that it is its duty to do all things, to suffer all things, rather than
degrade the character of the nation. A senate should never fly from a foreign enemy; and
it may be with some propriety maintained, that it should sit, like the old Romans, calmly
in the capitol till Gauls plucked at the beards of the senators.

The senate of Mexico, however, was not Roman. It was not even supported
by the prejudices of the people. It is one of the peculiarities of the Spanish race, on
both continents, to love titles. The old Castilian, like the soldier in Kotzebue's
"Pizarro" proof to bribes, can be won by an appeal to kindness and vanity. The
race is everywhere fond of titles, and consequently jealous of those who possess higher
distinction than themselves. Mier y Teran, when he dispersed the congress of Chilpanzingo,
said "that instead of attending to the interests of the people, its members were
occupied in taking care of themselves, and calling each other excellentisimos," and
this account seems to exhibit all the characteristics of the legislative assemblies of the
country, before or since. The consequence of such a state of affairs could not but be
jealousy on the part of the people, the existence of which Santa Anna took advantage of
immediately on the suspension of its sessions by the congress, Santa Anna appealed to the
people by a proclamation, in which he set forth his views in relation to the preservation
of religion, order, and law, all of which, he said, were threatened by the vice-president,
Farias, and his tyrannical majority in the legislature. How potent this address was, will
be understood by a reference to a subsequent chapter, in which is exhibited a statement of
the condition of the church. The minds of the people having been prepared by this address,
a pronunciamento was effected on the 25th of May, at Cuernavaca, a town of the department
of Mexico, about thirty miles from the capital. The plan proposed on this occasion was
strange: it put a negative on all prospect of improvement from the extension of religious
liberty, by a provision that all laws affecting church property should be repealed; it
destroyed liberty of political opinion, by an enactment that all the partisans of the
federal system should be banished, that the actual congress had ceased to exist, and that
another should be convened, the members of which were to possess full powers to
re-organize the government. This plan was almost universally adhered to, and the session
of congress finally ceased. The new congress met on the 1st of January, 1835, as has
previously been described, and the first act was to declare the vice-president, Farias,
disfranchised, and he was accordingly compelled to retire to New Orleans, where he resided
as lately as 1838. It then proceeded to a series of discussions, relative to the form of
government, & c., the result of which was a declaration that congress might make any
alterations it pleased in the organic form of the government, so that a republican
constitution existed, and the Catholic religion was not interfered with.

During the presidency of Bustamente, who seems far
purer and less vindictive than any other of the public men of Mexico, the prohibition
under which Gomez Farias lay was removed, and he returned to Mexico. Bustamente, it will
be recollected, had been a friend of Farias, or, at least, at one period of his life, had
professed as devoted an attachment to the old federal, system; but during the absence of
Santa Anna on his expedition against Texas, he had become chief magistrate under the
constitution which declared the Mexican republic one and indivisible, and procured the
exile of the subject of this notice. All accounts represent Farias as a pure and
disinterested patriot, as one who, had he lived in the United States, would have acted
with Jefferson and the other defenders of the greatest liberty against all and any
usurpations. Bustamente, on the other hand, was a man of peace, a pupil of that school
which believes whatever is safest is best, and which would inculcate the maxim that all
things are better than a violation of public peace. Madame Calderon, in her
entertaining book, represents him as boldly avowing these opinions, admirable, perhaps,
for a private citizen, but altogether unworthy of the chief of a nation. The minister,
however, often finds it convenient to renounce the opinions he had professed when seeking
power, and Bustamente, under the old and the new constitution, were different beings. The
sanction of an oath, also, gave him an excuse for acting as he did.

No sooner had Farias landed in Mexico,
which he did in the latter part of 1839, the date it is almost impossible now to
ascertain, than he set to work to arrange his plans, and in General Urrea, already
somewhat known from his participation in the campaign of Texas, he found a hand ready to
execute what his head would suggest. This pronunciamento was made on the 13th of July
1840. At the head of two regiments, one that del Comercio, the commandant of which was the
celebrated Count Cortina, now distinguished as being not only one of the wealthiest, but
most erudite men in Mexico, but who appears to have sustained Bustamente in this movement,
they rushed to the palace del Gobierno, and imprisoned the president. The whole
circumstances are, however, best explained by the government bulletin, an extract from
which follows:

"Yesterday, at midnight, Urrea, with a handful of troops belonging
to the garrison and its neighborhood, took possession of the National Palace, surprising
the guard, and committing the incivility of imprisoning his excellency the president, Don
Anastasio Bustamente, the commander-in-chief, the Mayor de la Plaza, and other chiefs. Don
Gabriel Valencia, chief of the plana mayor (the staff), General Don Antonio Mozo, and the
minister of war, Don Juan Nepomuceno Almonte,
reunited in the citadel, prepared to attack the pronunciados, who, arming the lowest
populace, took possession of the towers of the cathedral, and of some of the highest
edifices in the centre of the city. Although summoned to surrender, at two in the
afternoon firing began, and continued till midnight, recommencing at five in the morning,
and only ceasing at intervals. The colonel of the sixth regiment, together with a
considerable part of his corps, who were in the barracks of the palace, escaped and joined
the government troops, who have taken the greatest part of the positions near the square
and the palace. His excellency the president, with a part of the troops which had
pronounced in the palace, made his escape on the morning of the sixteenth, putting himself
at the head of the troops who have remained faithful to their colors, and at night
published the following proclamation:

The President of the Republic to the Mexican Nation. Fellow-Citizens:
The seduction which has spread over a very small part of the people and garrison of this
capital; the forgetfulness of honor and duty, have caused the defection of a few soldiers,
whose misconduct up to this hour has been thrown into confusion by the valiant behavior of
the greatest part of the chiefs, officers, and soldiers, who have intrepidly followed the
example of the valiant general-in-chief of the plana mayor of the army. The government was
not ignorant of the machinations that were carrying on; their authors were well known to
it, and it foresaw that the gentleness and clemency which it had hitherto employed in
order to disarm them, would be corresponded to with ingratitude. This line of policy has
caused the nation to remain headless (acefala) for some hours, and public tranquillity to
be disturbed ; but my liberty being restored, the dissidents, convinced of the evils which
have been and may be caused by these tumults, depend upon a reconciliation for their
security. The government will remember that they are misled men, belonging to the great
Mexican family, but not for this will it forget how much they have forfeited their rights
to respect; nor what is due to the great bulk of the nation. Public tranquillity will be
restored in a few hours; the laws will immediately recover their energy, and the
government will see them obeyed. ANASTASIO BUSTAMENTE. Mexico, July 16th, 1840

Previous to this the president had escaped. One proclamation in Mexico
alwalys produces another, and Farias, who had been proclaimed president by his party,
issued the following reply:

"Fellow-Citizens: We present to the civilized world two facts,
which, while they will cover with eternal glory the federal army and the heroic
inhabitants of this capital, will band down with execration and infamy, to all future
generations, the name of General Bustamente; this man without faith, breaking his solemnly
pledged word, after being put at liberty by an excess of generosity; for having promised
to take immediate steps to bring about a negotiation of peace, upon the honorable basis
which was proposed to him, be is now converted into the chief of an army, the enemy of the
federalists; and has beheld, with a serene countenance, this beautiful capital, destroyed,
a multitude of families drowned in tears, and the death of many citizens; not only of the
combatants, but of those who have taken no part in the struggle. Amongst these must be
counted an unfortunate woman enceinte, who was killed as she was passing the palace gates,
under the belief that a parley having come from his camp, the firing would be suspended,
as in fact it was on our side. This government, informed of the misfortune, sent for the
husband of the deceased, and ordered twentty-five dollars to be given him; but the
unfortunate man, though plunged in grief, declared that twelve were sufficient to supply
his wants. Such was the horror inspired by the atrocious conduct of the ex-government of
Bustamente, that this sentiment covered lip and suffocated all the others.

Another fact, of which we shall with difficulty find an example in
history, is the following. The day that the firing began, being in want of some implements
of war, it was necessary to cause an iron case to be opened, belonging to Don Stanislaus
Flores, in which he bad a considerable sum of money in different coin, besides his lost
valuable effects. Thus, all that the government could do, was to make this known to the
owner, Senor Flores, in order that he might send a person of confidence to take charge of
his interests, making known what was wanting, that he might be immediately paid. The
pertinacity of the firing prevented Senor Flores from naming a commissioner for four days,
and then, although the case, has been open, and no one has taken charge of it, the
commissioner has rnade known officially that nothing is taken from it but the implements
of war which were sent for. Glory in yourselves, Mexicans! The most polished nation of the
earth, illustrious France, has not presented a similar fact. The Mexicans possess heroic
virtues, which will raise them above all the nations in the world. This is the only
ambition of your fellow-citizen, VALENTIN GOMEZ FARIAS. God, Liberty, and Federalism.
Mexico, July 17th, 1840."

Besides this, a circular was sent to all the governors and commandants
of the different departments, from the Palace of the Federal Provisional Government, to
the effect:

"The citizen José Urrea, with the greater part of the garrison of
the capital, and the whole population, pronounced early on the morning of this day, for
the re-establishment of the federal system, adopting in the interim the constitution of
1824, whilst it is reformed by a congress which they are about to convoke to that effect;
and I, having been called, in order that at this juncture, I should put myself at the head
of the government, communicate it to your excellency, informing you at the same time, that
the object of the citizen Urrea, instead of re-establishing the federal system, has been
to reunite all the Mexicans, by proclaiming toleration of all opinions, and respect for
the lives, properties, and interests of all. God, Liberty, and Federalism. VALENTIN GOMEZ
FARIAS. NATIONAL PALACE OF MEXICO, 15th July, 1840"

Thus the hall opened, and as proclamations are valueless everywhere
without force, and especially so in Mexico, the several documents were sustained by arms.
Gomez Farias, though no military man, exhibited himself every where, and it was clearly
enough shown that his cause was popular with the people and almost with the military, by
the impunity with which he rode through the city. Mexico was, however, devastated; (here
was almost a want of the necessaries of life in the capital, and the lives of inoffensive
citizens were lost in the public squares and private dwellings of the national capital).

On the 19th, the following proclamation was issued:

"Address of His Excellency, Senor Don Valentin Gomez Farias,
charged provisionally with the government of Mexico, and of the General-in-Chief of the
Federal army to the troops under his command. Companions in arms: No one has ever resisted
a people who fight for their liberty and who defend their sacred rights. Your heroic
endeavors have already reduced our unjust aggressors almost to complete nullity. Without
infantry to cover their parapets, without artillery to fire their pieces, without money,
without credit, and without support, they already make their last useless efforts. On our
side, on the contrary, all is in abundance (sobra) men, arms, ammunition, and money, and
above all, the invincible support of opinion;-while the parties which adhere to our
pronunciamento in all the cities out of the capital, and the assistance which within this
very city is given by every class of society to those who are fighting for the rights of
the people, offer guarantees which they will strictly fulfil to all the inhabitants of the
country, natives as well as foreigners. Our enemies, in [he delirium of their impotence,
have had recourse to their favorite weapon, calumny. In a communication directed to us,
they have had the audacity to accuse you of having attacked some property. Miserable
wretches! No---the soldiers of the people are not robbers; the cause of liberty is very
noble, and its defence will not be stained by a degrading action. This is the answer given
to your calumniators by your chiefs, who are as much interested in your reputation as in
their own, Soldiers of the people! let valor, as well as all other civic virtues, shine in
your conduct, that you may never dim the renown of valiant soldiers and of good citizens.
VALENTIN GOMEZ FARIAS. JOSE URREA"

Thus stood affairs for several days; and Mexico la hermosa was becoming
a ruin. The palace of the archbishop was made a fortress by the party of Farias, a
circumstance which, added to the fact that he had required, as one of the bases of any new
organization of government, that the lands in possession of ecclesiastical bodies should
be liable to alienation, and should pay taxes, as (lid the property of individuals,
enabled the government to make representations that be had required the confiscation of
the holy vessels of the cathedrals, and other churches, and thereby to alienate from him
the people, whose superstition was more powerful than their patriotism. At this
juncture, came a letter from Santa Anna, dated Mango de Clavo, July 19, in which he
professed his willingness to assist the president in allaying this commotion. This letter
is remarkable; as Farias and (Urrea, the latter of whom was never known to act but as the
lieutenant of Santa Anna), had everywhere represented the last as their friend: and
Bustamente at once took advantage of the circumstance, by publishing this adhesion, and
others received from Valencia, Galendo, &c., in a bulletin, which, moreover, stated
that it would be seen, in spite of all misrepresentations, how devoted Santa Anna was to
the national cause. The people of Mexico were not deceived. They saw in this Janus-faced
policy that Santa Anna, whatever might have been his professions, now made a catspaw of
the pure Farias, and was seeking to grasp the fruits of a contest his high-minded
contemporary had entered into for the good of his country.

On the 15th of July, it is well enough here to state, the following
proclamation was made:

Ministers: I protest that I find myself without liberty and without
defence, the guards of the palace having abandoned me. Under these circumstances, let no
order of mine, which is contrary to the duties of the post that I occupy, be obeyed;
since, although I am resolved to die before failing in my obligations, it will not be
difficult to falsify my signature. Let this be made known by you to the congress, and to
those generals and chiefs who preserve sentiments of honor and fidelity. ANASTASIO
BUSTAMENTE. NATIONAL PALACE, July 15th, 1840.

The object of this was, that as Farias and his friends stated that
Bustamente had been released, on condition that he would restore federalism, the public
might be aware, either that such a promise bad been extorted, or if made in good faith,
would be disrerarded. On even the same day, Urrea, who had command of the troops of the
federalists, proposed the following terms for a cessation of arms:

Article 1st. It not having been the intention of the citizen, Jose
Urrea, and of the troops under his command, to attack in any way the person of the
president of the republic, General Anastasio Bustamente, he is replaced in the exercise of
his functions.

2d. Using his faculties as president of the republic, he will cause the
firing to cease on the part of the troops opposed to the citizen Urrea; who on his side
will do the same.

3d. The president shall organize a ministry deserving of public
confidence, and shall promise to reestablish the observance of the constitution of 1824,
convoking a congress immediately, for the express purpose of reform.

4th. Upon these foundations, peace and order shall be re-established,
and no one shall be molested for the opinions which be has manifested, or for the
principles he may have supported, all who are in prison for political opinions being set
at liberty."

All of which were rejected by the party of Bustamente. On the 23d, the
archbishop, acting in the capacity of mediator, which his social rank and functions
entitled him to do, invited all parties to a conference in his palace, a proposition
unanimously acceded to; but unfortunately, the truce was broken, and a bloody contest
ensued; during the course of which, the calle de Monterillo, in which were the
head-quarters of Bustamente, since he had left the palace del gobierno, ran with blood. In
spite of the rejection of the terms proposed by Urrea, Gomez Farias, on the same day,
offered the following:

1st. The forces of both armies shall retire to occupy places out of the
capital.

2d. Both the belligerent parties shall agree that the constitutional
laws of 1936 shall remain without force.

3d. A convention shall be convoked, establishing the new constitution,
upon the basis fixed in the constitutive act, which will begin to be in force directly.

4th. The elections of the members of the convention will be verified
according to the laws by which the deputies of the constituent congress were directed.

5th. His actual excellency, the president, will form a pro-visional
government, be being the chief, until the foregoing articles begin to take effect.

6th. No one shall be molested for political opinions manifested since
the year 1821 until now: consequently, the persons, employments, and properties of all who
have taken part in this or in the past revolutions, shall be respected.

7th. That the first article may take effect, the government will
facilitate all that is necessary to both parties.

These propositions were refused, and every means was used to prejudice
the people against those who would have saved them; at the same time it was stated that
Santa Anna was approaching the capital. The more the revolution progressed, the more
disgusting it became: evidently aware they were acting falsely to the interests of Mexico,
every opportunity was taken to misrepresent the leaders of the revolt in the eyes of the
people. A yet more unworthy system was pursued; the taxes were lowered to gain the support
of the leperos, who thronged the capital. The consequence of this was, that on the 27th
the president was enabled to say:

"We have the grateful satisfaction of announcing, that the
revolution of this capital has terminated happily. The rebellious troops having offered,
in the night to lay down arms upon certain conditions, his excellency, the
commander-in-chief, has accepted their proposals with convenient modifications, which will
be verified today; the empire of laws, order, tranquillity, and all other social
guarantees being thus reestablished."

Similar documents were sent to all the departments of the republic, and
thus terminated the abortive but honest attempt of Farias to reform the government of his
country. The, following letter of Santa Anna may be considered its finale:

The triumph which the national arms have just obtained over the
horrible attempts of anarchy, communicated to me by your excellency, in your note of the
27th, is very worthy of being celebrated by every citizen who desires the welfare of his
country, always supposing that public vengeance (la vindicta publica) has been satisfied;
and in this case, I offer you a thousand congratulations. This division, although filled
with regret at not having participated on this occasion in the risks of our companions in
arms, are rejoiced at so fortunate an event, and hope that energy and a wholesome severity
will now strengthen order for ever, and will begin an era of felicity for the country. The
happy event has been celebrated here, in the fortress, and in Tepeyahualco,where the first
brigade had already arrived (and whom I have ordered to countermarch), with every
demonstration of joy. I anxiously desire to receive the details which your excellency
offers to communicate to me, so that if the danger has entirely ceased, I may return to my
hacienda, and may lay down the command of those troops which your excellency orders me to
preserve here. With sentiments of the most lively joy for the cessation of the misfortunes
of the capital, I reiterate to your excellency those of my particular esteem. God and
Liberty. ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA. PEROTE, July 297 1840.

This plan had for its object the political regeneration of the
republic, and stated that six years previously a constitution had been adopted
arbitrarily, which destroyed the lawful government of 1824, and which appropriated to a
very few all the advantages of the social compact. The time, it stated, had come, when
nothing but the exertions of the whole nation would win its ultimate salvation, and place
Mexico in the position she should occupy among the nations of the earth. The first and
fundamental article restored the constitution of 1824, and called for a congress to be
composed of four deputies from each state. The constitution, after a scrutiny by this
body, was to be submitted to the people of each state for approval. The third promises
that the Catholic church shall be respected (respectada); the form of government was
guarantied to be popular, representative, and liberal, and absolute equality was insured.
The fourth provided for a temporary government in the capital, whose functions were to be
limited exclusively to foreign affairs. Other clauses provided for the refunding of taxes
illegally levied, the closing of all internal custom houses, and the prohibition for ever
of all taxes having such an object as the odious Alcabala of the Spanish rule. All
political offences since the revolution were absolutely pardoned. Where is the fault of
this plan? It has not even one selfish clause; yet it did not succeed. Farias also
published a letter denying any design to touch the cathedral plate, and appended to this
was a letter from the archbishop, stating explicitly that there had been no outrages
committed in any of the ecclesiastical buildings occupied by his followers.

On the night of the 18th of August, articles of capitulation were
signed on both sides; and Gen. Andrade, in the absence of Urrea, led the pronunciados from
the city to Tlanapantla, whence they dispersed. . When all was evidently lost, Gomez
Farias disappeared; arid Madame Calderon says, he was supposed to be concealed in the
city. His party did not, however, lay down their arms but on the following terms:

1st. Their lives, persons, employments, and properties are to be
inviolably preserved.

2d. General Valencia engages to interpose his influence with the
government, by all legal means, that they may request the chambers to proceed to reform
the constitution.

3d. All political events which have occurred, since the fifteenth up to
this date, are to be totally forgotten; the forces who adhered to the plan of the
fifteenth being included in this agreement.

4th. A passport out of the republic is to be given to whatever
individual, comprehended in this agreement, may solicit it.

5th. The troops of the pronunciados are to proceed to wherever General
Valencia orders them, commanded by one of their own captains, whom be shall point out,
arid who must answer for any disorders they may commit.

6th. General Valencia, and all the other generals of his army, must
promise, on their honor, before the whole world, to keep this treaty, and see to its exact
accomplishment.

7th. It only applies to Mexicans.

8th. Whenever it is ratified by the chiefs of both parties, it is to be
punctually fulfilled, hostilities being suspended until six in the morning of the
twenty-seventh, -which gives time to ratify the conditions.

Gomez Farias thus for a time disappeared from the history of Mexico.
When Bustamente was expelled from his country he went to Europe, and amid the double-faced
court of Louis Philippe, was highly feted and honored. It is a matter of some
self-congratulation that Farias sought the shores of the United States. Far be from us the
design to impugn the motives of Bustamente, who seems to have won the hearts of all who
came near him. The aristocratically disposed Madame Calderon, altogether English in her
views, and consequently disposed to support with her ready and powerful pen that clique
which would favor the interests of her country, and as the wife of a Spanish arnbassador
necessarily remembering that the representative of the Spanish crown who preceded him, was
a king in power and almost in station; and the democratic ambassador (comparatively
speaking), all unite in giving testimony in favor of his honesty. Of this there is
incontestable proof in the facts, that he laid down his public honors and his high power,
poorer than when he entered the national palace as president, and in his long exile was
indebted for all the civility he received, not to wealth, but worth. It may not be
unsuitable here to refer to some of the incidents of the life of Bustamente.

When, in September 1810, Hidalgo and Allende raised the cry of
independence, which gathered around them most of the true hearts of Mexico, Bustamente was
about thirty years of age, a physician in the city of Guadalajara, which is about fifty
leagues west of Mexico. He was already in possession in that career of sorne reputation,
when he felt himself called on to abandon it to participate in the efforts being made
against his countrymen, the insurgents, by Spaniards. During the four months which
followed the first pronunciamento, he had under the orders of Calleja fought against the
cura Hidalgo, Allende, Aldama, and Abasolo, the four principal figures of the great scene
of Mexican liberty. He was a participator as a subaltern, it is said, at the battle of
Calderon, and acted so bravely as to attract general attention to him. The result of this
sad battle has already been described, and we will not now follow Bustamente through the
bloodstained episodes of this cruel war, every page of the history of which is interesting
as it is horrible. Suffice it to say that at length he joined the patriots, disgusted at
the outrages of Calleja and Vanegas, and became a general in the republican ranks. It is a
pleasant task to say that one of the first efforts of his authority was to take down from
the stakes to which they had been affixed, the heads of Hidalgo and his comrades, whom he
had opposed, and have them buried with the rites of the church; for they had been
inhumanly treated as persons heretical and accursed. This was the year of the revolt of
Iturbide, to whom Bustamente was always loyal, and ill which for the first time he found
himself in direct opposition to Santa Anna, who was the first to declare against, as he
had been the first to hail him the emperor.

From this time to 1828, when the constitutional presidency was
terminated, Bustamente participated in all affairs of state. On the 30th of November, an
insurrection broke out in the capital, for the purpose of annulling the election of
Pedraza, who had succeeded Victoria, the consequence of which was the sacking of the seat
of government, the expulsion of Pedraza, and the accession to power of Guerrero, who,
though called vice-president, was the chief magistrate defacto. In the next year, Guerrero
shared the fate of his predecessor, except that death, not exile, was his portion. In
December, 1829, Bustamente commanded a division encamped at Jalapa, when, as happened
often in that portion of the Roman republic Mexico has ever seemed to imitate, the
soldiers proclaimed their general the ruler of their country. On the 18th of December, he
set out for the capital, which he approached with his indefatigable soldiers with such
rapidity, that Guerrero was unable to collect a sufficient force to oppose him, and
deserted the seat of government, the defence of which he confided to a subordinate
officer. Mexico cannot be approached from Jalapa without a great detour, except over a
long and exposed bridge across the lakes which are on the western side of the city. This
causeway existed in the time of Montezuma, and across it Cortes marched to destroy the
Aztec empire. Its communication was at the barrier of Guadalupe, where, as well as at the
national palace, earthen defences were hastily erected. The merchants who remembered that
in the same month of the preceding year, Mexico had been pillaged, made other preparations
for defence, and fortified their warehouses. All who have ever been in any city of Spanish
America, are aware that every building is a castle, and in the hands of brave men, would
be a serious impediment to an enemy.

Parties of civicos (armed citizens) also patrolled the streets. This
body was created in imitation of the national guard of France; but instead of being the
protectors, like them, of public liberty, are composed, generally, of the dregs of the
populace; and always have been found ready to follow any enemy of public peace. Bustamente
had marched to within a few leagues of Mexico between the 18th and 24th. The night of the
22d and 23d was very dark, and a thick mist hung, like an impenetrable veil, over the
causeway, and concealed, from the sentinels at the barrier of Guadalupe, a black mass,
which advanced rapidly towards this outlet of the city. At length, the body of men, for
such was this mass, was discovered. "Quien anda?" cried the sentinel.
"Amigos," was the reply. "Que gente?" cried the sentinel again.
"Tropas de Mejico." They were suffered to pass in tinder the impression that
they were partisans of Guerrero; and as they passed, the drowsy guards asked, "Donde
han vmdes dejado Bustamente?" (Where have you left Bustamente?) and were amply
satisfied by being told, at Cordova. Another, and yet another body of troops, were
suffered to pass in a similar manner. At daybreak, these parties united into one column,
and proceeded rapidly down the streets of San Francisco and Plateros, to the plaza del
palacio, of which, as well as of the terraces of the great palace, they took possion. In
but a short time, a rumor was spread through the city, that a regiment of insurgents had
passed the defences in disguise; and crowds collected in time to see them commence an
attack on the startled garrison. Shot flew over the heads of the crowd; but all were too
anxious about the result to leave. Bustamente at last entered the palace, and by energetic
measures restored tranquillity, and prevented any recurrence of the scenes of 1828.

Thus was accomplished the victory of the Yorkinos over the Escoceses,
referred to in the account of the presidency of Guerrero. Bustamente was for three years
at the head of the government, which was in fact administered by Don
Lucas Alaman. During his government he sought to endow Mexico with the
benefits of art and manufactures, and established the banco de avio to protect them, and
employed eminent artisans of other countries to instruct the natives. Mexico continued,
however, in a condition of turmoil, in consequence of the hostilities of Guerrero with
Alvarez and Armijo, in the south of the republic, a state of affairs only terminated by
the death of the unfortunate president. Of all participation in this the world has
acquitted Bustamente, and attributed it to his minister Alaman, in the life of whom will
be fully detailed all its circumstances.

In 1833, when Bustamente was replaced by Pedraza, and Santa Anna become
president, after the expiration of Pedraza's term, congress was induced by Santa Anna to
banish a number of his enemies, among whom Bustamente had the honor to be included, and
was sent under an escort to Vera Cruz, whence be expected to to to France. The ship which
he purposed to sail in, was not however ready, and Santa Anna caused him to be confined in
a bulk beneath the castle with the vilest criminals, an indignity base as it was useless.
In 1836 he visited Europe, where he attracted much attention, and it is said devoted
himself to the study of the peaceful career he had adopted in early life. When Texas
revolted he crossed the Atlantic, and asked to be permitted to draw his sword in defence
of the rights of the Mexican nation he had once governed. He was more fortunate than be
expected; the imprisonment of Santa Anna having allowed the nation to act as it pleased,
he was chosen president on the 25th of January, 1837, and was inaugurated on the 20th of
April of the same year. His opponents were General Bravo, his old minister Alaman, and
Santa Anna. The latter, on his return, was accused of having sacrificed the interest of
the nation by an onerous treaty he had concluded at Washington, but found Bustamente had
forgotten all his private wrongs in the high functions of his office.

A few days after his accession to power, Bustamente, to allay the
impatience of his troops, who had long been unpaid, and the demands of whom the treasury
was unable to meet, paid to them from his own funds, ten thousand dollars. He also
concluded a definitive treaty with Spain on the 8th of May, by which that power finally
consented to recognize the independence of Mexico, and renounced all hopes of conquering
it. A severer ordeal for any ruler cannot be conceived than that to which Bustamente was
subjected. The Mexican people have ever been prone to attribute to the government all
their misfortunes; and the capture of San Juan by the French won for him many enemies. The
penury of the country also added to his difficulties. Two years after this event, congress
levied an impost of fifteen per centum on all articles brought into the city of Mexico.
Commerce was already depressed, and this circumstance but added to the public distress:
the many murmurs which were raised by the people, were eagerly taken advantage of. There
has always been in Mexico a party of sincere men, lovers of the system of government of
the United States, who neglect no opportunity to achieve their country's independence, who
were on this occasion headed by Farias. A series of fights occurred, which filled up the
whole space between the 12th and the 27th of July, the result of which has been already
described in the preceding part of this chapter, and the effect of which was that Farias
was driven into exile. There is, however, one episode which deserves particular mention.
On one occasion the cannon had beaten in the wall of the national palace, and it was
evident all would soon be over. The staff and friends of Bustamente besought him to fly,
but he refused, saying that honor and duty required him to remain. Just then a band rushed
into the room, crying, "Death to Bustamente!" The president advanced towards
them, threw off his cloak, and showed them his glittering uniform. This intrepidity saved
his life, for the insurgents withdrew without daring to lift a band against the
representative of their nation. The popular cause, however, was but partially successful;
congress removed the new tax, and Bustamente retained his power. In the course of but a
few months, a new revolution broke out which changed the state of affairs. Bustamente,
disgusted with power, resigned and returned to Europe in the months of September and
October, 1842. He passed some time in travelling, and finally established himself in
Genoa, where he remained until the new troubles of 1844 and 1845 induced him again to seek
his native land.

In June, 1845, Santa Anna arrived at Havana, in the English steamer
Medway, and met Bustamente on his way to Mexico. Had the ex-dictator gone to New Orleans,
he would have met Farias on a similar voyage. In the two victims of his last ambitious
intrigue, he read a lesson that honesty is the best policy, for, though widely differing
in opinions, both Bustamente and Farias are equally honest. Both Bustamente and Farias
have since participated in public affairs in a civil capacity; the one having been
president of the congress at the time of Paredes' inauguration, and the other having
contributed to the revolution which restored Santa Anna. Events have recently
occurred which change the whole aspect of affairs, and have produced a state of things
which may conduce ultimately to the salvation of Mexico, provided that country does not
blindly shut her eyes to the demonstrations of experience, and confide in the pretence of
a false republicanism, which must fade before the truth of institutions more liberal in
character and faithfully executed.

The president, Bustamente, must not be confounded with his kinsmen Don
Carlos Bustamente, celebrated as the author and editor of many works on Mexican history
and the memorials of the Aztec race, and Don Jose Maria Bustamente, well known as a
botanist and contributor to the natural history of his country. The whole family are said
to be distinguished by high talent and devotion to Mexico.